Israelis rescue top Haitian official

Yesterday, the Israeli delegation to Haiti rescued one of the country’s top income tax officials from the government office building which collapsed in the January 12 earthquake, Israel’s Hebrew-language daily Haaretz reports.

The official, 52, who had been trapped underneath the rubble for four days, was found in moderate condition, suffering from several bone fractures and dehydration. He is currently being treated at the Israeli field hospital which was operational yesterday in a soccer field near the airport in Port-Au-Prince, the capital of the devastated Caribbean nation.

More than 50 people have been treated so far by the Israeli medical team, Israel Radio reported this morning, four of whom underwent operations.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Brigadier-General Shalom Ben Aryeh told Israel Radio that the Israeli delegation to Haiti is one of the biggest and most skilled on the island.

The IDF and the Foreign Ministry sent extra medical staff rather than a rescue team, after learning from the Haitian authorities that nearly all the country’s hospitals were destroyed in the quake.

The Israeli delegation that landed in Port-au-Prince on Friday numbers about 220 soldiers and officers, including 120 medical staff to operate the field hospital.

The mission includes 40 doctors, 20 paramedics and 24 nurses, as well as medics and medical technicians. About a third of the delegation is made up of reservists who were called up specifically for the mission.

Israeli specialists in other types of disaster relief have also been sent.